State of Decay 2 debuts new trailer at PAX East

Developers Undead Labs unveiled a new gameplay trailer for zombie-survival-brawler State of Decay 2 at PAX East in Boston this week, and it looks like they’ve added some interesting wrinkles to the undead formula.

Sure, this is first and foremost more State of Decay, which launched on the Xbox 360 way back in 2013 during what could be considered the modern heyday of zombie pop culture. There’s the base development, team management, rural environments, and third-person combat all present in the new trailer.

But it also shows off some newer features. There are brutal takedowns, which now involve climbing onto larger zombies’ backs, reminiscent of Dragon’s Dogma. Zombies also have a new sense of physicality, and can be hurled into their comrades or used as formerly-human shields.

The world also looks more open, and it appears to be possible to tear around off-road in various vehicles – which reminds me quite a bit of the way it looks in PUBG.

State of Decay 2 launches May 22, with an “early access” period opening to pre-order customers May 18. You can find it over at the Microsoft Store.